Scent Diary 23 – 29.1.17

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Portia

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Hey Crew,

Welcome to week two of Scent Diary. Really it’s a meandering wander with me through my life with scented asides. Hopefully you like this shit, sorry ’bout it if you don’t.

This week has been fun and mildly hectic. Come along for the ride.

Scent Diary 23 – 29.1.17

Monday 23:

Jin was on night shift last night and when he got home this morning, unusually, he woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep so I bumped out of bed and started getting stuff organised. One spritz of Cacharel Liberté to give me a zingy citrus wake up. Very nice.

In the mail today were a bunch of Neela Vermeire Creations 15ml Take Twos. Trayee, Mohur and Ashoka came to be shared. I love the idea of having 15ml travel bottles and my ones will be coming on the South Pacific Cruise next week. Best thing about the Take Twos is that I can buy one for me and one to share. Luckily I have a mate in Europe who can send my stuff across (Thanks V!) but they are available from LuckyScent who ship worldwide.
Went to visit an old work buddy who is now managing a hotel within a group. He has expressed interest in having Turbo Trivia so I took him some info and fingers are crossed that we get a few of the pubs on a weekly basis.

Then Jin & I went for Yum Cha, you can tell he is pretty happy because he just spotted the Battered & Deep Fried Crispy Tentacles. They are his absolute favourite. He’s bloody easy to keep happy really.
Monday night writing the weeks Trivia Q&A I wore the original Lolita Lempicka EdP. Sweet liquorice cotton candy. It’s a great fun wear.

Tuesday 24:

At 3.19am I finally finish writing Trivia Q&A. I’m going to heavily spritz Liberté by Cacharel and hit the fart sack. Jin’s already 4-5 hours of Zs ahead.

Up at 8am to walk the dogs because they were whinging at the door and I didn’t want to clean up doggie accident. Respritzed Liberté because it’s so comfortable, I’m nearly halfway through my second 75ml bottle. Even this early, got home from our walk about 8.45am, the sun is ferocious and I could feel myself burning. Note to self, wear sunscreen for extended walks.
Scott came today and we went frag shopping with Jin. Woo Hoo! Found a Tester bin with some excellent stuff. Grabbed a 30ml Mitsouko, 50ml JPG Fragile EdT, 50ml JPG Classique, 100ml Lolita Lempicka Eau Masculine and 100ml Emporio Armani She all for about AUD$70.

To celebrate Jin took us all to Hawa, our favourite Middle Eastern Chicken Shop in Granville. It is the yummiest chicken and comes with tour, pickles, chips and flat bread. We scoffed it down.

Tonight for work I wore Magie Noire by Lancome. Not quite sure of its age but it’s a lovely chypre that feels fuzzy and firry yet cool & sophisticated. Very elegant. MMM
They had special Peking Duck Pancakes for Chinese New Year at the bistro tonight and they were bloody delicious. We had a really busy night too with 74 people playing.

Wednesday 25:

I love Jin’s days off, especially when I have a day free too. As we left the house I dabbed some vintage Chloe extrait and Jin triple spritzed Bombay Bling by Neela Vermeire Creations.
We jumped on a bus to Parramatta and Jin organised his new credit card and savings account. He’s trialling a new bank because we are thinking of moving.

It also became haircut day with both of us getting sharp new dos.

After that on the train we went to town to meet one of our besties for lunch. Indian and Guylian chocolate were on the menu, Jin had ramen. Afterwards we dropped into Hermès tie shopping and I drenched myself in Hermès Equipage Geranium which was really good but I can’t really remember it because we were busy.
Tonight our friend Latai came over for Pizza and Tomorrowland movie with George Clooney, it was a fabulous idea put poorly into action.
Now it’s bed time and I’m going to drench myself in Annick Goutal Songes.

Thursday 26:

Australia Day here in Oz. I’m ambivalent about this celebration. It’s the day the English arrived and stole the continent from its rightful owners and the Aborigines have not fared well in our ensuing takeover, so I feel bad for them. It’s also a day to celebrate my homeland, one of the most beautiful, interesting and diverse countries geographically in the world. I love our flora and fauna, yes even the deadly stuff, and our climate.
Celebrating fragrantly I am wearing loads of Australian Independent Perfumery, Vanille Tonique by Evocative Perfumes. Sweet amberish vanilla with a dry core, very nice. Wears well on a super hot summers day.

Had a Shalimar Bubble Bath and thought I was spraying Shalimar parfum afterwards but it was Mitsouko by Guerlain. That was perfect for work and I got two lovely compliments but when I got home I headed straight for the Shalimar EdP by Guerlain and went crazy.

Friday 27:

This morning, inspired by a comment on Perfume posse, I am luxuriating in wafts of Nuit de Tubereuse by L’Artisan. Why don’t I wear this more often. While I’m fully BWF fragrant I’m replying on APJ and Perfume Posse. About to start packing and sending the fragrances that have been sold this week on FaceBook. All up 51 sold in my cull! Amazing.
Spending a little time today while eating left over Pizza watching The Expanse on Netflix. I like it.
For dinner Alice & I snuck off to the Ryde/Eastwood Leagues Club to have Peking Duck. Best In Sydney. EXCEPT it’s fricken Chinese New Year, booked out and Set Menu. So we went to Billus Indian in Harris Park which was bloody ripper: service, food, outdoors in the evening cool. Heaven. We had samosas, pakora, some spicy capsicum chicken dish and aloo mutter with gravy. After Alice had mango kulfi and I had a mango lassi.

My dinner fragrance was Eau Parfumee au The Noir by Bulgari. It’s smoky tea and wood was the perfect accompaniment to our adventure. By the end of dinner though I needed a respritz so Lys Soleia by Guerlain came out. After a long summer day the creamy jasmine and ylang blend with a my man sweat to create a salty seaside scent.

Fragrantica

Saturday 28:

Chinese (ALL of Far East Asia really) New Year and Jin is eating Rice Cake Soup to celebrate. I spritzed Sushi Imperiale by Bois 1920 to feel part of it all.

For a 40th birthday gig tonight I wore Samsara vintage extrait & EdT. Perfectly gorgeous creamy sandalwood bomb. I wish I had a photo. It was a backyard gig and they’d built a stage & hired a microphone setup but forgotten lighting and proper sound equipment. The sound was quiet and muffled but the crew came to the rescue and sang the choruses of Carpenters On Top Of The World and Marcia Hines Ain’t Nobody. The birthday boy was super stressed but it all went off splendidly with only minor hiccups.

Sunday 29:

DUMPLINGS!! Breakfast at Din Tai Fung in Chatswood with one of my longest and dearest friends Eve and her daughter. I wore Monsieur Li by Hermès again because it fits with Chinese New Year, wears beautifully in the heat and smells great on. Then we had a little wander around the shops. It was a perfectly lazy start to the day. How great are Jin & Evie in this shot? Check the peacock wallpaper too.

Bath time at Chez Turbo. Today I was in a cool bath with B&BW Sensual bubbles. Nothing sensual about it, it’s a sizzling fruitchouli concoction that is halfway between Mugler Angel and Cacharel Liberté. Smells excellent and fun.

Started a Sample & Decant using week so my first to go was the whole vial of Rubris Rose by DSH Perfumes. Review to follow.

So there’s my week in review. Anything exciting happen for or around you?
Portia xx

Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade GIVEAWAY WINNER

Hey APJ,

Woo Hoo! Let’s see who won,
Portia xx

Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Labdanum

Surrender To Chance has samples from $5/ml

 

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade Carded Manufacturers Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 28th January 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Neva

 

The winner will have till Wednesday 1st February 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Micky & Moby Candles

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Portia

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Hey Ambient Scenters,

One of my mates, who has been a mate since our teen years, gave me some Micky & Moby candles for my birthday last year. I thought the packaging with its black & white cats and paw print on the labels, the hand applied strings with scent names and the big glass jars were all very simple but beautiful. Almost a nautical look. As soon as my bathroom candle was finished I brought one of them in and it sits with the lid off on my bathroom window sill. The scent is exactly the right amount to give a calm, fresh and clean scent to the room every time i walk in. When guests come I light the candle and it cleanses the air of all the human waste smells in a minute, yes really. It’s also a lovely soft scented light for my late night baths. TBH it’s my preferred way to bathe but mostly I do it in the daytime for work purposes.

Micky & Moby Candles

This is the original glass jar I got my Micky & Moby candles in. Simple and perfect. They’re $20 and you can email Emma on mickyandmoby@gmail.com and below are a list of fragrances and sizes

Micky & Moby Candle Fragrances
Uplifting
Sweet lemongrass
Lemongrass and Ginger
Fresh Coffee
Jasmine
Gardenia
Rose
Lemon Verbena
Butt Naked
Coconut Lime
Bamboo and White Lily
Lavender
Watermelon
Love Spell
Black Raspberry and Vanilla

Large Candles $20
Small candles $10
Shot Glass candles $5.
Tea lights $1.00 each
To order please email mickyandmoby@gmail.com

Micky & Moby also have these great new jars and bowls. Aren’t they heaven?

Please tell Emma you were sent by APJ, she’ll be so excited that you’re part of the family.
Portia xxx

Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade by Quentin Bisch for Etat Libre d`Orange 2016

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Portia

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Hi there APJ,

Recently I went and hung out with my mate Bronwyn of Gascoigne & King Candles. I did some Xmas shopping with her and 7 of my buddies got Gascoigne & King candles. PERFECT gift. Anyway she passed me this sample because she is also the distributor of Etat Libre d’Orange here in Australia. Well, I looked at the beautifully packaged sample and thought, “Those freaking bastards at ELdO want me to make a complete tit out of myself when telling people what frag I’m wearing.” Seriously guys, I’m just a unilingual dude that wears dresses from down under. This kind of long French name, any long name really, kills my joy in a scent. So I was already halfway ready to hate it just because of the name.

Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade by Etat Libre d`Orange 2016

Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade by Quentin Bisch

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Labdanum

Smells like labdanum incense. Unbelievably gorgeous. Simple yet complex, wearable, challenging. Glorious.

Then name and the ad are irrelevant (and pretty rubbish) but the fragrance is bloody good.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $95/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $5/ml

Have you tried Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade?
Portia xx

Super Sample Pack GIVEAWAY Jan 2017

giveaway hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade Carded Manufacturers Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us an Etat Libre d`Orange fragrance you like or love….

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 28th January 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 1st February 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Favourite Fragrance Note?

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Portia

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Hi there Fumies,

There are a few notes in fragrance that if I see them in a note list I definitely want to give them a sniff. Not all the fragrances that have these notes in them work for or on me. As a starting point though I am much more willing to try some new thing with these babies in on my skin. I’m WAY more inclined to order a sample or seek it out actively.

Favourite Fragrance Note?

Fragrantica

Amber

OK, probably no surprise to most people who read APJ regularly but Amber is one of the notes that I look for in note lists. Recently Fragrantica changed their note list icons and it took me a while to recalibrate my swift glance. Fortunately Amber wasn’t changed hugely. Now if I see Amber in the name of a fragrance then I’ll spray myself without even looking at the note list, not clever but often fun.

Some ambers I really love are: Ambre Cerulean by Huitieme Art Parfums, L’eau d’Amber by L’Artisan, Ambre Russe by Parfum d`Empire, Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids, Amber Queen by A Dozen Roses, Ambre Narguile by Hermès, Chergui by Serge Lutens and Ambra del Nepal by I Profumi di Firenze. Obviously not a complete list, this is off the op of my head.

Fragrantica

Incense

Growing up Catholic and attending primary school with Nuns and secondary school with Jesuit Priests my early years were awash with incense. Then as late teens bloomed, in fashion school and my friends began to become more multicultural I got to smell incenses from around the world. Nowadays I have a cupboard full to overflowing of incense gathered from visiting many countries. From the cheapest to the quite expensive and I love them all. Put a hefty dose of incense into a perfume and I will try to get my nose on some ASAP.

Some of my adored incenses: Avignon by Comme des Garcons, Trayee by Neela Vermeire Creations, Oliban by Phaedon, Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens, Encens Flamboyant (Shower Gel) by Annick Goutal, Bois d’Ascese by Naomi Goodish, Interlude Man by Amouage and Vintage Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. Trayee Neela Vermeire Creations

Fragrantica

Oakmoss

I think I am hyper-nosmic to oakmoss and its facsimiles. Even the merest smidgeon and it overtakes most fragrances for me. A good thing in my eyes because I love its soft, furry, green smokiness. In my nose a little bit of oakmoss makes every fragrance more stunning and desirable. If I see the word oakmoss in a note list I can be about 95% sure that it will be a winner only skin and that pretty soon there’ll be a FB and a backup in the cupboard.

Oakmoss-centric frags in my wardrobe: Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleue & Vol de Nuit by Guerlain, Chloe (1975), Antaeus by CHANEL, Niki de Saint Phalle, Magie Noire by Lancome, Bandit by Robert Piguet, Miss Dior by Christian Dior (1947), Farouche by Nina Ricci and Eau de Gucci (1993)

So, over to you. What note or notes ring your bells when looking through note lists?
Portia xx

Scent Diary 16 – 22.1.17

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Portia

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Hi Hi Fragrant Fumies,

I thought it might be fun to add a scent diary. Over at Muse In Wooden Shoes Mals86 has been doing one for years and I always love reading her updates and SOTDs. Now I’m not promising to write every single fragrant thing I wore because most weeks it’s testing 20 and wearing 10 for pleasure, so you’ll get a snapshot. This is a trial though so maybe it will continue or maybe it will bore me to shit.

Scent Diary 16 – 22.1.17

Monday 16:

Morning Jin & I went and fixed some lights at the Redfern flat that Kath lives in, 37C at 10.30am SHEESH. I wore Eau Parfumee au The Noir by Bulgari, a cool leather/tobacco/tea and has a deliciously dark quality.
All afternoon, and at Indian for dinner in Harris Park with one of Jin’s ex flames Paul, I wore Kai EdP. A surprisingly good choice even though I got a massive headache halfway through dinner. In the evening writing Trivia Q&A I still had Kai remnants so I drowned that in Atelier Cologne Tobacco Nuit which opened  very nicely but I totally ignored it in my Trivia immersion.
Finished writing Q&A about 3am and gave myself a lavish triple spritz of Armani Privé Cuir Amethyst, which resulted in blissful, languid sleep.

Tuesday 17:

So today is 41C (106F) and humid. Not my ideal weather but luckily Jin discovered that our A/C has a dry mode. It uses about 1/3 the energy of regular cooling A/C and makes the room feel 15 degrees cooler. A mate gave me 10ml of original Sables by Annick Goutal. Immortelle, pepper and tea? As I was wearing it I thought it must be tobacco and honey with some vetiver, goes to show how much I know.
In the early afternoon I spritzed a little Niki de Saint Phalle on my hand and enjoyed it beauty while having a cup of tea and writing blog posts, including one on the ease of its very own loveliness.
For work I chose the lavish, radiant white floral of Reem Acra. It’s easy to wear in the heat, smells fab. It smelled so good I wore it to bed too.

Wednesday 18:

We got to 42C (108F) today and it says humidity is under 30% but it feels way higher so I continued the Reem Acra. My Fundraising gig cancelled this morning. They told everyone else except me. Thank everything I eMailed to check details last night. So I’m spending the day blogging and doing the clothes washing. You can imagine the scene: I’m sitting at the desk in boxers spritzing and sniffing, breaking off regularly to go grab clean clothes to hang and fill the next cycle. TBH it’s very relaxing except for the sweat running down me in rivulets. Above is a pic of the fabulous laundry that Jin built in our apartment, small but really well planned and easy to use. The baskets are Top for whites, Middle for yellow, orange, red, purple, brown, Bottom for green, blue, grey, black. Reds are currently washing and about to hit the lines on the balcony.

Once Jin got home we took the dogs to my BFFs Mum & Dad’s house around the corner for a cooling swim, blessed relief. OMG! In this photo I look like Demis Roussos. After the swim I spritzed some Niki de Saint Phalle and Jin cooked dinner.
Before bed I lavishly applied Bombay Bling by Neela Vermeire Creations. So much fruity fun on open. I was asleep before the heart set in…..

Thursday 19:

Quiet day at home. For Christmas BFF Kath had Vegemite named for us. There are 4 large jars Jin, Seo, Portia & Turbo. This week I opened the first of the set TURBO! We have a sourdough loaf that I’ve been toasting for my Vegemite in the mornings. When people say it’s the little things, sometimes they’re right.
Morning I lavishly spritzed Monsieur Li by Hermès. Floating on a cloud of citrus and greenery. Perfect for our cooler weather today.
We had a drama today, Jin’s dog Jinx ate a poo bag full of poo. BLOODY HELL! Freaking out? You bloody bet I was/am.
My bath time bubbles were provided by Robert Piguet’s  Bandit Shower Gel and followed by Bandit fragrance for work. We had a full house, excellent night

Friday 20:

Walked the dogs in the AM and it is hot and sticky here already.
Going to lunch with Natalie from the now defunct AnotherPerfumeBlog so to brave the heat I’m wearing Geranium Pour Monsieur by Malle. It’s cool minty greenness will hopefully help me remain fresh in this fiery furnace. Sadly lunch got the can because Sydney decided to rain so I did some stuff around the house, paid bills, post office run, groceries etc

Geranium Pour Monsieur Frederic Malle Need refill
Jin came home and we had KFC in the lounge watching TV. I had a Korres Guava bubble bath and tonight I’m wearing Mandragore Pourpe by Annick Goutal. Its sweet minty fresh opening is deliciously green, spicy and tingly pepper/geranium heart and ambers warm base.

Saturday 21:

I was watching a British program on Netflix last night and into this morning. Lovesick. Compulsive viewing, I feel like they’re my mates and I’m watching them go through life & love drama. Anyway, 3.30am I go clean my teeth and can smell no fragrance upon my person so I grabbed Coup de Foudre by Parfums DelRae and spritzed like crazy. Fizzy roses and a greeny/yellow that I thought was narcissus but who knows…

Pedicure by myself today and I really enjoyed the tranquility. I think it’s only the second time in nearly a decade. I wore Eau Parfumée au Thé Noir by Bulgari, its smoky tea and woods were a perfect fit for the acrid bustle of the nail joint. Don’t you love my hairy Hobbit feet?
Update on Jinx the dog. Passed the poo bag in his poo today. Was NOT allowed a second go at it. ARGHHH.

For the afternoon I have had a boxed sample of Celestial Rose by Ramon Bejar on my desk for ages, since December 2014 when I was in NYC and Josie at OSSWALD gave it to me as a GWP. I finally tried it today and it’s a torn green branch and rose. A little bit Tea Rose by Perfumers Workshop.
For bed I spritzed vintage Madame Rochas EdC. A perfectly fresh yet cosy floral aldehyde bomb that was zinging along happily till I started the ZZZZZZZs

Sunday 22:

Original Agent Provocateur in the morning. Yep, I was a rose BOMB! with herbal sidelines. I would have SWORN that this had patchouli in it but nope.
Jin came home and slept through the day so I occupied myself with watching The Crown on Netflix. I know you’ve all seen it and that you’ve all told me but OMG what a fabulous series, I’m completely and utterly enthralled and madly in love with every character. HEAVEN!

Fragrantica

Work tonight and I wore Madonna Truth or Dare. White flower extravaganza.

What a week, how was yours?
Portia xx

CHANEL: Le Baudruchage

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Portia

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OK Folks,

Great to see you, as always.

Have you ever wondered about the piece of skin that they put around the neck of perfume to keep the air out? Me too. So it’s called a Baudruchage and it used to be animal, then became vegetal and I think it’s a petroleum product now.

YouTube

Anyway, here is a fascinating mini movie about how it’s done.
Enjoy.
Portia xxx

CHANEL: Le Baudruchage

Seeker by Liz Cook for One Seed

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Portia

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Hello Indie Perfumery Lovers,

A while ago Liz sent me this sample to try, which I promptly lost and it has only now resurfaced in my New Year Cleanup. PHEW! So finally I get to tell you about it.

Seeker by Liz Cook for One Seed

One Seed

One Seed gives these featured accords:
Coriander, coconut, vanilla, roasted basmati rice, oakmoss, ambrette seed
Oganic sugar cane ethanol, 100% natural fragrance (natural and organic plant extracts), purified water

Food. My instant correlation in the opening was food. Ice cream in fact. One minute later you can smell the rice and coconut, it’s like a Penang Curry. Deliciously fragrant and my mouth is watering like I’m really going to get my favourite Thai dish. HA! I have a huge happy smile on my face and wonderful memories of going to our fave Thai restaurant in Gordon that looks like nothing, very simple. The food though is abundant, consistently excellent and cheap as chips. The staff are all so friendly and we drive nearly an hour to eat there nowadays. We always get a second order when we are there now to bring home as dinner in two nights time. Yes, we are quite in thrall and have had years of dinners there with so many friends, often just Jin and I will go alone.

Wikipedia

From One SeedSeeker is a youthful scent created for the young and the young at heart. It is for endless adventures, for seeking truth in all things. Featuring fresh greens and delicate mossy notes entwined with milky coconut, vanilla and the scent of salt on damp skin.

So Seeker is an incredibly happy fragrance for me, the memories flowed for hours. Even as it softened to dry down Seeker still smells like happy memories but they turn more Indian and religious as the fragrance seems to become smokier and darker, more filled with humanity and all the way to the end rice steam. The musk mallow does excellent work as a fleshy backdrop, this frag rocks. You’ll never pick that it’s a natural.

One Seed has $85/30ml EdP
One Seed
has a fabulous Sample Set. All 7 fragrances x 2.5ml atomisers

Is there a foody smell you love or wish was part of a fragrance?
Portia xx

Vintage Opium GIVEAWAY WINNER

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Portia

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Hey crew,

This has been a super fun one for me, let’s see who our winners are.
Portia xx

Vintage Opium GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, plum, citruses, mandarin orange, pepper, jasmine, cloves, West Indian bay, bergamot
Heart: Carnation, sandalwood, patchouli, cinnamon, orris root, peach, lily-of-the-valley, rose
Base: Labdanum, tolu balsam, sandalwood, opoponax, musk, coconut, vanilla, benzoin, vetiver, incense, cedar, myrrh, castoreum, amber

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Vintage Opium by YSL Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 19th January 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

Gina Tabasso

Jc Loh

The winners will have till Sunday 22nd January 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.